European policyholders should also get Equitable compensation, say MEPs

The European Parliament has welcomed the findings of parliamentary ombudsman Ann Abraham in her report on published today, saying they echo the findings of its own report by MEP Diana Wallis.

The European Parliament has also called for the UK Government to respond to its own findings, which were published a year ago, as it says it has yet to receive a “substantive reply”.

Diana Wallis says: “This is a damning indictment of UK financial regulation throughout the nineties. In the case of Equitable Life, such regulation fell well below domestic and EU standards.”

She says Abraham’s report makes the case for compensation “irresistible”.

Chairman of the European Parliament’s petitions committee Marcin Libicki adds: “The British authorities must not lose sight of the fact that citizens from other EU member states were also policyholders and therefore should be equally entitled to compensation.”

The committee has invited Abraham to deliver a statement on the case in October.

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